Broadcasting and Communications Review Committee Issues 'Warning'
"Criticism of Vulgar Expressions Lacking Gender Sensitivity"
The Korea Communications Standards Commission has decided to issue a legal sanction of 'caution' against KBS N Sports, which caused controversy due to a caster's sexually harassing remarks during a baseball game broadcast.
On the 11th, Yonhap News reported that the Commission held a full meeting at the Broadcasting Hall in Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, and made this decision.
The problematic remark occurred during the broadcast of the Hanwha-KT professional baseball game on KBS N Sports on August 1. When the broadcast camera caught a Hanwha fan holding a sketchbook with the cheering phrase "If you're a woman, Choi Jae-hoon," the caster said, "I want to eat 'Yeoja-ramyeon' (literally 'woman's ramen'); isn't it the most delicious ramen?" The commentator also did not stop the caster's remark and responded with laughter.
The production team, realizing the mistake on site, took action in the next inning and issued an apology before the game ended, but the controversy spread widely. At the time, netizens criticized, saying, "I don't know what I just heard," "How can such words come out during a broadcast without any awareness?" "What era is this for such remarks to be made?" "We need to cultivate sexual sensitivity," and so on.
Fan A, who held the sketchbook, also expressed discomfort. A wrote on an online community, "I received an apology from the PD and the caster. The conditions were to cut out the segment from the TVING video and to clearly explain and apologize for today's mistake in the next broadcast," adding, "Please watch together to see if the conditions are being met."
Immediately after the controversy arose, KBS N Sports announced a suspension order for the caster and officially apologized. At that time, KBS N Sports posted on its official website, "We apologize to our viewers and baseball fans," and stated, "We recognized the seriousness of the caster's problematic remarks during the baseball game broadcast, immediately placed the person on suspension, initiated disciplinary committee procedures, and stopped the caster from conducting any baseball broadcasts," bowing their heads in apology.
A KBS N Sports official who appeared for the statement said, "It was a mistake that should not have happened, and we apologize. The situation surprised us on site as well," and added, "The caster received a three-month suspension and is currently on standby after the disciplinary period ended."
However, the legal sanction could not be avoided. Commissioner Kim Jeong-su criticized, "It was an extremely inappropriate sexually harassing remark against women," and Commissioner Kang Kyung-pil pointed out, "The impact of the content is serious." Chairperson Ryu Hee-rim also noted, "Such vulgar expressions came out due to insufficient education on sexual sensitivity." She added, "However, we considered the immediate apology and disciplinary action taken against the person," explaining the reason for the caution decision.
The Commission's decisions are divided into 'no problem,' administrative guidance stages such as 'suggestion' and 'recommendation,' and legal sanctions including 'caution,' 'warning,' 'program correction/modification/suspension,' 'disciplinary action against related personnel,' and 'imposition of fines.' From the legal sanction stage, it is considered a serious penalty as it affects points during broadcaster license renewal or reapproval.
On the same day, the Commission also decided to recommend corrective action for KBS N Sports' '23-24 Special V Preview Show' (February 1). In that broadcast, scenes were pointed out where broadcaster Hong Seok-cheon repeatedly wiped the nose of a homosexual director with his finger or grabbed his chest, wrapped around the waist of a male volleyball player to lift him as if weighing him, and wiped the player's face down to his legs during an interview. Chairperson Ryu said, "Viewers may overlook this because they know Mr. Hong Seok-cheon's sexual identity, but the scenes were excessive, so we strongly urge correction to prevent recurrence."
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